Vacated Barneys Hosts Parsons Students for BFA Showcase

Before Barneys New York went belly up in 2019, what aspiring designer didn’t dream about getting their clothes inside its hallowed marble corridors?

This year’s Parsons grads might have missed the chance to sell there, but they did technically get in Monday night to the former Chelsea flagship, which served as their 2025 BFA fashion show venue. 

In true Barneys style, it was an original concept for a student-led presentation, but this wasn’t the first time the swirling Steven Harris stairway has doubled as a runway. The vacated lot previously hosted Michael Kors for fall 2024 as well various pop-ups and conventions over the years. The Parsons event, however, was the last to be held before the building changes owners and undergoes remodeling.

Throngs of people formed an unruly line outside, possibly leading passerby to believe the legendary warehouse sale had somehow been revived. Inside, on the basement level that once housed cosmetics, former Barneys senior vice president Julie Gilhart made the rounds, surveying a few of the prize winning collections. “It’s a little overwhelming. There’s so much talent here,” she said, highlighting the experimental textile work. “Nothing puts you in a better mood than seeing talent emerge. It’s exciting.”

Gilhart, who gave the commencement speech at the New School’s graduation ceremony Friday, knows that feeling of excitement well. Starting at Barneys in 1992, she helped launch the careers of several alumni, including Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Loewe’s newly minted creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Gilhart added that this was exactly the kind of initiative Barneys was meant for: supporting young creatives who are “uniquely authentic,” as she put it. “It’s the Barneys mantra.”

Guests later proceeded up to the first floor to take in a parade of over 200 looks across program pathways including collection, materiality, phygital fashion, fashion product and systems and society. Perched on benches under empty shelves where jewelry and handbags had been displayed, it was clear Barneys’ all star roster still loomed large for students.

There were clingy knitted evening dresses in the vein of Azzedine Alaia and several chrome or chain mail pieces could be linked back to Paco Rabanne. Meanwhile, Rick Owens and Issey Miyake were the chief references in menswear. And on the more experimental front, Rei Kawakubo’s ebullient sculptural forms and McQueen’s macabre, S&M fetish-wear delighted and sometimes shocked the crowd. 

Given the range of silhouettes, it was difficult to discern a thread tying any of them together. Ironic then that, “A Common Thread” was the chosen theme.

According to Parsons professor Anna Lerner-Zwick, Barneys’ legacy as a touchstone for the New York fashion community was the thread. “We’re bringing it back to life,” she said. “The whole idea is about bringing different ideas and different identities, different cultural influences together, but everybody has a very unique standpoint.”

Her colleague Deshon Varnado chimed in, reflecting on how the store is intertwined with Parsons history. “It was such an iconic place in terms of Barneys buying some of our designers’ collections right out of school, so just bringing it full circle and being able to celebrate before the building is gone, we’re very grateful,” he said. “We’re just so excited to see what our students do next.”

To close, models twirled into the street, though it was unclear where they were headed next- perhaps downtown Printemps, which recently opened in the Financial District. As the city’s carousel of high-end retail keeps spinning, so did they.